No Good Deed (2014)
| runtime = 84 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $13.2 million | gross = $54.3 million }} No Good Deed is a 2014 American thriller film directed by Sam Miller, starring Idris Elba & Taraji P. Henson. Plot The movie opens in Tennessee with a prisoner, Colin Evans (Idris Elba) in a police van on the way to court with two other policemen. It is revealed that Colin has been in prison for over 5 years for manslaughter and pleas to the court to be granted parole, saying that he is a changed person. However, the court denies him parole, claiming that he is not trustworthy enough. On the way back to prison, a frustrated Colin deceives the policemen in the car and murders both mercilessly & he escapes the van. At the same time, in Atlanta, Terri Granger (Taraji P. Henson) is home with her young children. Her best friend Meg (Leslie Bibb), a young and carefree woman suggests that Terri relax and not stress herself with her children and husband. Meg knows that Terri's relationship with her husband has taken a rough toll on her. Hence, Meg tells her not to worry and that she will visit her at night for a 'girls' night' to cheer Terri up. Terri's husband Jeffrey (Henry Simmons) arrives home just long enough to pack his things and visit his father, leaving her quite abruptly with their two children. Colin stalks his ex-fiancee, Alexis (Kate del Castillo) and witnesses her intimacy with another man. He follows her home and they get into a violent argument, resulting in him murdering her in his fury. On the journey back, a terrible storm causes Colin to lose control of his car and it crashes into a tree. As he seeks for help, he notices that there was only one house with the lights on, which happens to be Terri's. Later, Colin asks Terri for her help in getting a tow truck. She invites him inside after he uses her phone where he can take shelter from the storm as they wait for the tow truck. Meg is shocked to see Colin. The three then talk and share glasses of wine. When Terri leaves momentarily to comfort her baby, Meg and Colin are left alone. Colin asks to be excused for a smoke break. Meg follows him into the garage and he offers her a cigarette, which she accepts. Meg asks him if he was having an affair with Terri. Colin shrugs, leading Meg to assume that Terri was indeed having an affair with him. However, later she criticizes him, saying that Terri would never do such a thing without telling her best friend. Her criticisms infuriate Colin and he strikes her dead with a shovel leaving her dead body on the garage floor. Terri returns to the hall after putting her baby to bed and is surprised to see that Meg is not there. Colin tells Terri that Meg left, but Terri is overcome by suspicion, especially when she sees Meg's umbrella in the stand. Terri realizes that Colin is not the nice person that he appeared to be. Alarmed, she rushes to the kitchen to call the police, only to find out that Colin had disconnected all the wires. Realizing that her and her children's lives are in danger, she rushes to Ryan's bedroom, only to find Colin playing with her. As they walk out of Ryan's bedroom, Terri hits him with a fire extinguisher. However, he manages to fight her back by aiming a gun at her. Terri is forced to obey him (including taking her clothes off in his presence). In a brief moment where Terri strikes him unconscious, she manages to flee to her bedroom and dial 911. Colin recovers and finds her in the bedroom. He yanks the phone out of her hand just as she finishes her call. She begs him to leave, but Colin forces her to take the children and get into her vehicle. He forces Terri to drive. While walking out of the Garage, Terri sees Meg's dead body on the floor. Tearfully, Terri asks him why he was doing this, to which Colin replies that she will see for herself soon. He refuses to tell her their destination. As they pass by a police car on the road, Terri flashes her headlights when she thinks Colin is not looking, hoping to catch their attention. The police car forces them to pull over and a young policeman interrogates them. The policeman requests Terri to step out of the vehicle which she does. He asks her if she is all right, to which she is forced to reluctantly agree because Colin is alone with her children in the vehicle. The policeman senses her reluctance, but before he can do anything, Colin steps out of the car and shoots him dead. He shoves Terri back into the vehicle and they resume their journey. Colin makes Terri drive to a house with the children. Not known to Terri, this was actually the home of Colin's ex-fiancee, Alexis. She panics when she sees Alexis' dead body in the bedroom. As she tries to find the first-aid kit in the house, a tree knocked over by the storm outside hits Terri's car, causing the alarm to go off. Worried that the noise would attract attention, Colin binds her to the bed while he goes to check on the car. As Colin exits the house, Alexis' phone rings. Terri manages to free herself from being bound to answer Alexis' ringing phone and the call turns out to be from Jeffrey, who is trying to meet Alexis. It is only then that Terri realizes that he was not out of town with his father after all and was having an affair with Alexis. Terri also realizes that the encounter with Colin was not random and that Colin wants revenge on Jeffrey because of his affair with Alexis. Terri tells her surprised husband the truth and has him call 911. Terri misleads Colin into thinking that they have escaped and hides her children. When Colin discovers her, she attacks Colin once more, this time grabbing his gun and shooting him until he falls out of a window, dead. The police arrive along with Jeffery, who is punched in the face and isn't forgiven by Terri (who later leaves him. The movie ends with Terri moving into a new house with her children. Cast *Idris Elba as Colin Evans *Taraji P. Henson as Terri Granger *Leslie Bibb as Meg *Kate del Castillo as Alexis *Mark Smith as EMT *Henry Simmons as Jeffrey Granger *Wilbur Fitzgerald as Dr. Ross *Mirage Moonschein as Ryan Granger Production The filming for "No Good Deed" began in April of 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally, the film was supposed to be released on October 18, 2013, but it was later changed to January 17, 2014 & then pushed back to April 25, 2014. The official release date was pushed back to September 12, 2014 and released on that day. Reception Box Office "No Good Deed" debuted at #1 at the box office, grossing $24,250,283 during its opening weekend. Worldwide, the film grossed $54,323,210. The film closed in theaters on November 2, 2014. It became producer Will Packer's third film to top the box office (along with Ride Along and Think Like a Man Too). Critical Reception "No Good Deed" has received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 10% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 3.2/10. The site's consensus reads, "Dull, derivative, and generally uninspired, No Good Deed wastes its stars' talents — and the audience's time". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 26 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". The audience for No Good Deed was 60 percent female, 59 percent over the age of 30. Filmgoers gave the movie a "B+" CinemaScore. Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "C", calling the film a "fairly conventional home-invasion thriller". Josh Kupecki from the Austin Chronicle gave the movie a one in a half star rating, saying it "slouches toward its inevitable conclusion much like that rough beast to Bethlehem, falling apart and lacking all conviction". Joe Neumaier from The New York Daily News called it "the worst kind of exploitative thriller". Accolades 2015 BET Awards *Best Actress: Taraji P. Henson (won) *Best Actor: Idris Elba (nominated) 2015 Image Awards *Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Taraji P. Henson (won) *Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Idris Elba (nominated) Theatrical Trailer Category:2014 films Category:2010s films Category:2010s thriller films Category:American thriller films Category:Screen Gems films